Wait for Me
by NovemberMist
Summary: "Just hang on Marinette. Just a few more minutes." He pushed the cat miraculous onto her finger, and leaned over her protectively, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I'll be back for that. I'll be back for you. Wait for me." Was SUPPOSED to be angsty drabble, but nooooo. Now it has a playlist, and a plot line. Damnit.
1. Chapter 1

**I Don't own Miraculous; I just got a little obsessed with it after watching it with my kids. ** **This piece is just a little drabble bit that has no real plot, just angst. I like the angst. SorryNotSorry. It is intended to be a one-shot. So without further stalling, enjoy! Or don't whatever.**

The air stung with the sound of gun fire and silence. Chat Noir froze briefly, before turning and running back to the tower, to where Ladybug was fighting Sharpshooter. Or where she should have been. But there was no sound of fighting, no sound of her yoyo whipping through the air. No sound of gunfire anymore.

He reached the base of the tower just in time to see the red clad hero, his partner, his love, falling head first towards the ground.

"No! Ladybug!"

He wasn't sure if he had yelled it or if it was just in his head, and he didn't remember moving towards her at all, but suddenly he was in the air, she was in his arms, and they were back on the ground.

"Ladybug! Ladybug! Please be okay, please please..."

Her body was warm but limp, head lolling back as he tried to rouse her. Tears pricked his eyes as he knelt, cradling her closer to his chest. Her breathing was ragged and laboured, each more shallow than the last. His eyes searched frantically for the wound that he knew must be there, the tears blurring his vision made it impossible to find. He shouted for some one to call an ambulance, unable to take his eyes off of her.

"Ch...chat..." Her voice was quiet and gravelly, and he strained to hear her. "The... aak-ma..."

"Shh, shh, don't... We'll get the akuma later, after you're all fixed up."

"No. You..." She pushed her yo-yo into his hand. "have to..."

"I can't. It's your power. You have to do it, Ladybug, I can't do it without you."

Her eyes were barely open and unfocused. A wry smile played her lips briefly, as she reached up to her ear. Chat Noir's eyes widened in panic.

"No, milady, you can't-"

"Chat."

Her eyes closed as she pulled the one ear ring loose. Pink light shimmered around her, the black spotted suit seemed to dissolve, leaving behind pink flats, pink denim capris, a white shirt, and black coat in a fizzy pink glow. The shock on Chat's face gave way to terror and anguish.

"M...Marinette..?"

A pained, ragged breath was his only answer.

"Marinette..!"

He could hear the sirens now, growing steadily louder. The girl in his arms grew weaker with every breath, her heart beat fading beneath his fingertips.

He picked up the earring that she had already removed, clutching it in his fist as another wave of tears traced their way down his cheeks. Choking back another sob, he caressed her cheek before his hand moved up to the other earring. He knew he had to. He didn't want to. But she was right; he *had* to. Some one had to purify the akuma, and she was in no condition to do it. It fell to him. He pulled the earring from her ear, and the pink glow fizzled away completely, leaving a very pale, and very weak Marinette in his lap.

"Plagg," he sobbed, "claws in."

Marinette's eyes were open again, just barely, and a sad smile graced her pale features.

"A-drien... of course it's you..." her voice was barely a breath, and she let her eyes flutter closed again.

"Just hang on Marinette. Just a few more minutes." He pushed the cat miraculous onto her finger, and leaned over her protectively, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I'll be back for that. I'll be back for you. Wait for me."

The ambulance was there now, and the paramedics quickly loaded her into the back, racing off again with sirens blaring. Adrien stood at the base of the tower, Ladybug's earrings adorning his ears, the small red kwami perched on his shoulder.

"Tikki? Spots on."


	2. Chapter 2

Back by popular demand! Everyone apparently wasn't happy with a wishywashy ending that could have gone either way. Does she die? Does she recover? NOBODY KNEW. It was perfect and beautiful, but no, you need "closure" or something. I apologize in advance if this chapter seems kind of rushed, I'm very much winging it.

Mister Bug was raging. It was obvious to anyone that witnessed the akuma battle. His yoyo whirred and whipped as he pelted Sharpshooter with it. The akuma quickly grew agitated, the glow of victory from downing Ladybug fading with every smack of that infernal toy. The yoyo flew out and wrapped around him, pinning down his shotgun arms. With a smirk, Mister Bug yanked the yoyo back, sending Sharpshooter spinning uncontrollably. Mister Bug jumped into the air, and came crashing down on Sharpshooter's right arm. The barrel of the gun snapped below his foot, and a black butterfly squirmed out. He caught the akuma quickly, purifying it before dashing off without so much as a glance at the dazed and confused victim. Part of him knew it was wrong, that he should have made sure the akuma victim was okay, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The man had hurt – possibly killed – Ladybug. Marinette. And right now, she was far more important to him. He threw the lucky charm that he had summoned earlier in the battle into the air without missing a step.

"Miraculous Mister Bug!"

The cloud of ladybugs and their pink magic swirled through the sky and rushed around, fixing all the damage caused by the battle. Hope caught in Mister Bug's chest as he raced towards the hospital. They would fix her; Ladybug – Marinette – would be fine. The yoyo whizzed out of his hand and he swung around the corner and into the alley behind the hospital, letting the pink magic dissolve his Mister Bug costume before dashing through the doors.

"I need to see Laaa-arinette." Adrien panted as he came to a screeching halt in front of the nurse's station. The nurse raised an eyebrow at him.

"Larinette?"

"Er.. No, sorry. Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng? She came in by ambulance?"

The nurse typed away at her computer, eyebrow still raised skeptically. Adrien worried his lip and tapped on the counter anxiously.

"Hmmm... Room 213." The nurse's voice was rather monotone and disinterested, and Adrien waved a quick thanks before running off to the elevator to find his Lady.

The elevator was empty save for the teen and the kwami hiding in his shirt. Adrien's head was still reeling at the revelation. Ladybug was Marinette. Of course she was. How had he not seen it before? Not only that, but that meant that Ladybug – Marinette – liked him after all. He was not as oblivious about her crush as he liked to pretend. The pictures with hearts on them broadcast to the world during that TV show were the first hint, and though she denied it when he caught her lying, he didn't have the heart to reject her then and there. Not after the embarrassment of having her bedroom unceremoniously shown to all of France. And after the fiasco at the wax museum? He'd be stupid to believe for a second that she had been pranking him back.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. A green arrow was painted on the wall opposite him with the room number painted above and he followed it through the hallway until he came to 213. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open and poked his head in, before spotting the girl sitting in the bed looking out the window. She looked fine. The miraculous mister bug had worked!

"Marinette?" His voice was soft as he pushed the door open further, hesitant to come closer than the doorway. She jumped slightly, startled by the sudden voice, and turned to look at him, a confused look in her eyes.

"Adrien? Wh-what am I doing here?" The soft, easy tone in her voice was all the encouragement Adrien needed and he quickly crossed the room pulling her into a tight hug. His nostrils flared as he breathed in, committing her scent to memory.

"I thought I'd lost you," he murmured into her hair, but completely missed the deep red flush of her cheeks.

Plagg chose this moment to come out of his hiding spot. He flew in front of Adrien's face, paw in front of his mouth in a shushing gesture. Adrien shot him a confused look, and Plagg pointed at Marinette, his head, and then shrugged before whizzing away again. Adrien was still confused. He loosened his grip on Marinette, pulling away enough to look at her face. She looked up at him, eyes wide, and a beet red blush still covering her cheeks, and Adrien could feel the blood rushing to his own cheeks before pulling away completely and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Err. Um. Right. How... How are you feeling?" He asked, unable to meet her gaze again, acutely aware of her sky-blue eyes studying his face and following his every movement. He couldn't keep still, and his legs fidgeted, kicking at the air.

"I fine feel. I mean I feel fine. I don't understand, why am I here? What happened? And," she paused, pulling her hand out towards him, face flushing again "Why... Do I have your ring?"

Adrien froze, eyes locked on the ring. She didn't remember. That's what Plagg was trying to tell him. The bug magic fixed her, but it took her back to before she was shot. Which means the last thing she would remember... Would be fighting the akuma. Before she fell, before he caught her, before she gave him her earrings, and he gave her his ring. For her, the last hour hadn't happened at all. He blinked, trying to figure out what to say.

"Oh, uh... That. Is... because... youuuuu lost your earrings!" Her eyes widened in shock and her hands flew to her naked ears.

"No! My earrings?!"

"Hey, no, it's okay, I have them. You really don't remember?" His voice was soft and just a touch sad. His chest clenched painfully and he could feel his pulse in his thumb as he reached into his pocket to fish them out. Marinette shook her head, snatching the earrings and putting them back in with a sigh of relief.

"I can't remember anything at all. Last thing I remember, I was f-running. Running away from an akuma attack, and then I woke up here." She was straining to remember, and her eyes flickered over him to see if he had caught her almost slip. He pretended he hadn't. His brow furrowed as he weighed his options.

"We ran into each other. Running away from the akuma. You were in an alley, looking for your earrings, and... Chat Noir was trying to get the akuma away." He swallowed thickly. He hated lying. "I tried to pull you away, but you wouldn't leave without them, and then... You..." He let the tears well in his eyes, remembering her limp form falling from the building, feeling his chest tighten as a sob worked its way up, a sputtering gasp of sadness. Marinette reached out and squeezed his hand comfortingly. It was a very Marinette gesture, and he half choked on a laugh. She was the one who was shot, who nearly died but here she was offering him her support. He drew in a shuddering breath.

"You were shot. The akuma... He got you. There was so much blood, and you weren't breathing, and I thought... I thought..." The tears rushed down his cheeks now, and he hugged her tight again. "The ambulance rushed you here right away. I ran after it. Then I saw the cloud of ladybugs, and Chat Noir gave me your earrings just before I got here."

He could feel Marinette nod against his chest and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He pulled away again, and noticed the blush still on her face as she stared at her hand.

"But that doesn't explain..." She took the ring off her finger, holding it out to him. He picked it up from her palm gingerly, placing it back on his finger and twisting it idly.

"I put it on your finger just before the ambulance got to us," He admitted, but couldn't come up with a reason as to why, so he just left it to her imagination. It wouldn't be that far from the truth, anyway. Probably. A mostly comfortable silence filled the room as Marinette processed the information. She let herself fall back into the bed, her expression suggesting that there was still something she couldn't figure out, but Adrien couldn't fill that gap for her. She would have to ask Tikki.

"Anyway," Adrien's hand was once again rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm glad you're okay. Ladybug's powers are amazing. But I should go... My father will be worried, and, you need your rest."

Marinette nodded, flashing him a quick smile. "Thank you, Adrien. I... I really appreciate you being here."

He smiled back, and waved half awkwardly before making his exit. It wasn't until he was home in his room that Plagg flew out of his hiding place in Adrien's coat and started pestering him.

"Why didn't you just tell her the truth?" The little cat creature stared at his chosen incredulously, arms crossed.

"Because, Plagg, I didn't think a public hospital was the best place to say 'Hey, I know you're ladybug, and also I saved your life, again, 'cause I'm actually Chat Noir.' It would have been too much, and too big of a risk." He pressed his face into his hands.

"Well, what are you gonna do now that you know who she is?"

"I don't know," Adrien sighed. "I Need to fix this. I just don't know how yet."

I Just want y'all to know I'm REALLY UPSET. Because this was SUPPOSED to be a One-Shot, and now it has a plot, and a playlist, and damnit. This chapter was finished at 3 am while listening to "Fix You by Cold Play on loop. You're Welcome. There may or may not be a third chapter. I dunno.


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